Sunday, September 9, 2012

The summer of 2012 will be remembered as another one filled
with disappointment and hypocrisy in the realm of U.S. Cuba relations. Nothing has changed really. And that’s the problem. This summer saw the tragic death of reformer
Oswaldo Paya, who fought to change Cuba from within its system. He was against the embargo and travel
restrictions and did not accept U.S. funds to support his work. Yet none of the U.S. politicians who
mourned his death ever followed his advice in life. And now while Cuba is currently facilitating peace
talks between Colombia and the FARC to bring an end to decades of that conflict
in Latin America, we still have the arrogance to call Cuba a “State Sponsor of
Terror”. The hardline Cuban Americans in Congress have made a mockery of that designation turning it into a
political instrument instead of a true security measure. This designation is the driving force
behind things like the high cost of telephone calls to Cuba averaging over
$1.00 per minute, among the most expensive rates in the world (details about
this are in this blog's archives).

The travel situation to Cuba today grows more complicated
and expensive. Who would ever think that a 45 minute
flight from Miami, Florida could now cost between $450-$600 for Americans, and
well over a $1000 for Cuban Americans (when you add the costs for a Cuban
Passport and keeping it in force)? Now when you arrive in Cuba, you may be
subject to new Cuban Customs import taxes and baggage weight controls that can
cost you as much as the entire ticket!
Traveler beware… The
bottom line is that the legal traveler must be informed and have sufficient
funds to cover these costs. The
consequences of these factors will actually deter travel to Cuba, and that only
hurts those with family and relatives.
While the new Cuban Customs import taxes may deter individuals who made
a business out of being “mules” to deliver hard to find goods to Cubans, it is
also going to make it more expensive for Cubans with new small businesses that
depend on imports to support them.
How will they cope with this new reality? For the People to People
license travelers, it appears a bureaucratic stalemate is in place. Licenses are essentially not being
renewed. OFAC is not providing
much of an explanation other than generalities why renewals have slowed to a snail's pace. No one from Congress is stepping up to
question OFAC’s rationale either. That should be a wake up call to
the pro-travel side. So while the
People to People category still technically exists, the reality is there is going to be a
lot less travel to Cuba for the time being.

We have also experienced the Republican and Democratic
Presidential nominating conventions. What missed opportunities! Nothing has changed there
either. The Republican and
Democratic Party platforms on Cuba are essentially the same tired old rhetoric,
one being a tad softer than the other. Reports of a lone activist at the Tampa, FL GOP convention
facing down pro-embargo interests and the symbolic lone Democratic activist
waving a “We Demand Our Right to Travel to Cuba” sign on the convention floor
in Charlotte, NC that made it on CSPAN was about all the pro-travel side could muster. Was this really the best the pro-travel
side could do politically after more than ten years of fighting this issue? There were complaints about OFAC, calls
for petitions, and articles suggesting that now was the time to change U.S.
Cuba policy. As if there has not
been good times to do so over the last decade? Meanwhile the
pro-embargo hardliners continue to do their basic skills political work,
organizing and expressing themselves as a cohesive voting bloc and raising
political money to keep their allies in office and elect new ones. Election Day is two months away. You see right now is the time to create
and elect new allies to work for change on this issue in the Congress.

The question for the pro-travel/pro-engagement side of the
U.S. Cuba issue is this – are you truly committed to changing the law and the
policy? The laws will not be
changed through petitions, articles, or complaints about OFAC. The law will only be changed when there
are actually lawmakers in office who believe in this issue and will vote to
change it. So where are they? Where are the Members of Congress who
will be willing and courageous enough to face down the arrogance and ignorance
of the pro-embargo legislators in the committee rooms and the floors of Congress?
There really aren’t any but a small handful. And even they are not totally committed because the
pro-travel side is not either.

Well if you are going to have politicians support your side of an issue, you have to support them and elect/re-elect them first. If the pro-travel side does not
organize itself into a cohesive voting bloc and raise money to engage in
political action will the law and policy ever change? The answer is NO.
There is a saying about political strategy, “You don’t bring a knife to a
gunfight”. That wisdom ought
to be embraced. Here is the
irony. The pro-travel side
actually outnumbers the pro-embargo hardliners, both in number and potential
financial resources. There is a
false belief that the pro-travel side does not have the wherewithal to do the
actual political work required to get the job done. You see, U.S. Cuba policy is actually more a political
issue, than a policy issue.
Everyone knows that the policy stinks and should be changed. However, the politics reveal it is also still
rich with votes and money from those who want to keep the status quo. And that is what gets politicians into
office and keeps them there, our votes and our contributions.

A friend of mine commented that the pro-travel side may not really
be so committed to the goal because many who are involved have a financial
stake in keeping the status quo. They
could not be fully committed because by resolving the issue once and for all would
also mean the loss of financial support for the very same cause to fight these
now going on for more than a decade.
The embargo and travel restrictions are a big business for a handful of interests.
Some on all sides are making a lot
of money off this crazy situation.
That analysis does give one pause, because you do have to wonder, if
there is a set way to achieve a goal and you deliberately choose not to follow
the rules towards achieving that goal, then just how committed actually are you
to the goal? It is not rocket
science either, when you see how the pro-embargo side plays the political game
in the most elementary way and have the results to show for it in elected
members and supporters in Congress.

Another individual
commented to me privately that they do not want to get involved at the
political level but that they are still committed to the goal of ending the
travel ban. I reminded this person
that this perspective is counter-intuitive. I was told it was better for Members of Congress to hear
from their “constituents” on this issue and that our electoral system is dirty concerning
money and influence. I reminded
this person that the political system we have, which is a privately financed
election system, gives preference and priority to the concerns of voters and
donors, and especially to the individual who happens to be all three - a
voter/donor/constituent. It is
that simple. You see the highest
form of political commitment is expressed by becoming a voter and or a
political donor on any issue that matters to you. You do not even
have to make a large contribution to show that you are committed to your
issue. Actually, politicians understand the commitment to a cause with a large contribution that came from a pool of small donors, instead of from one wealthy donor. Money
is the gauge for the level of political interest in an issue. For the last decade, the only measurable
level of interest has been in keeping the travel restrictions and the embargo
in place. The problem is the pro-travel
side is not putting up any substantive political money when they could and
choose not to. Here is an example.
There is a social media page
devoted to lifting the travel ban, with more than 30,000 individuals who
support it. If each of those
30,000 supporters contributed the price of two movie tickets, say $20, there
would be significant political funds to make a difference in the upcoming
November elections and into the 2014 congressional elections. Furthermore, while having a popular
social media page is good for a cause, it can be also be a vehicle to organize voters
into a cohesive voting bloc.
These are just two of several opportunities out there to actually change
the political conversation about U.S. Cuba policy with less than 60 days to go
to Election Day. Unless and until
there is genuine political action, the travel ban and embargo will continue to
be the law of the land, no matter how stupid or repugnant those policies may be or how many times it is communicated through any media.

2
Comments:

It is terrible that President Obama is stalling on the renewal of people-to-people licenses for some US travel agencies. Media reports on this situation have caused enormous confusion. Most people think that legal Cuba travel for Americans has ended. This is not the case. Many licenses remain available.

It's still ok for Americans to go to Cuba with a license. Cuba travel for Americans hasn't been cancelled or banned. Despite delays by Washington in re-issuing licenses to some US travel agencies, you can still visit Cuba legally now with many other Cuba travel agencies and license options. Find out at LegalCubaTravel.com

It is terrible that President Obama is stalling on the renewal of people-to-people licenses for some US travel agencies. Media reports on this situation have caused enormous confusion. Most people think that legal Cuba travel for Americans has ended. This is not the case. Many licenses remain available.

It's still ok for Americans to go to Cuba with a license. Cuba travel for Americans hasn't been cancelled or banned. Despite delays by Washington in re-issuing licenses to some US travel agencies, you can still visit Cuba legally now with many other Cuba travel agencies and license options. Find out at LegalCubaTravel.com

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